Ireland: Black Magic
A long time ago, in Malin Moor, there lived a man and a woman who had an only daughter. As is often the case, they cherished their child like the apple of their eye.
One day, the father went to gather peat in Rossore, and at noon, the mother sent the girl to the fields with lunch for her husband: a soup in a wooden bowl. In those days, in the countryside, only wooden utensils were used.
It was a beautiful day, and the father sat at the edge of the peat bog to enjoy his meal. Then he began to watch the sea together with his daughter, and shortly after, they saw a large sailing ship heading towards the mouth of the river.
"What a big and beautiful ship!" said the girl.
"Indeed!" replied the father.
"I wonder where it's headed," said the girl.
"I think it's making its way to Killybegs."
"If I wanted, that ship, no matter how big it is, would never reach its destination, even with all its sails unfurled!" exclaimed the girl.
"Silly girl!" said the father. "What could you possibly do to a ship out there on the sea?"
The girl didn't answer and waited for her father to finish eating. Then she took the bowl and went to wash it in a pool of water in the peat bog. After washing it, she began to make strange movements in the water with the bowl.
The father had lit his pipe and wasn't paying attention to what the girl was doing. Shortly after, she said to him, "Dad, come here and see. Look what I can do to the ship."
The father looked towards the sea; the ship, which until that moment had been heading towards the mouth of the river, was now steering towards the rocks below them.
"Who taught you that?" asked the father.
"My mother," she said.
"And what will you do to the ship when it's closer to the coast?"
"When it's close enough to the rocks, I'll capsize it, and all the sailors will drown."
"I see," said the father. "And you told me that it was your mother who taught you this witchcraft?"
"Indeed," replied the girl cheerfully.
The girl let the ship go, which returned to the open sea, and brought the bowl back home.
The father didn't ask her any more questions and didn't say anything even that evening when he returned from the peat bog. He washed himself as usual and put on his best clothes. During the night, he left the house. Wherever he went, his wife and daughter never saw him again, nor did they ever hear from him again. It is strange, however, that no one ever saw or heard from him again. It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.
